We share this planet with many species. It is our responsibility to protect them, both for their sakes and our own.
– Pamela A. Matson, ecologist
My thank you note to those who sent birthday greetings went this way, “Thank you for the gift of friendship. Siargao, my birthday island, offered interesting realities making my day even more meaningful: at noon, my heart was in pain seeing a five-year-old giant clam being grilled, dynamite fishing openly exploding on this ocean blue, every blast destroying coral branches, a baby shark dying in the hands of a fisher, a sea turtle trapped, and towards the evening, I saw illegal loggers unloading woodcuts from a fishing boat — all these on the 31st of May. A meaningful birthday indeed as it reminded me of one important mission: our responsibility to protect….”
I remember my trip to Soccoro, the island here in Siargao known for the Bucas Grande Lagoon and the Sohoton Cave National Park. The Mayor was so proud showing me the road he built which went straight to the topmost part of the island, then down to the other side. The flora and fauna sacrificed to achieve what he called “a real-estate haven which could be like Tagaytay Highlands…” was too much.
It should not have been made to be like Tagaytay where the wonders are all man-made.
Siargao is an all-natural paradise. The wild ferns along the way as we drove up were dying, and the others totally dried-up with the road construction savagely destroying this amazing mountaintop of fernland.
Siargao is facing the danger of too much intrusion from selfish minds of politicians who keep on making wrong decisions.
The greatest symbol of this kind of narrow-mindedness is the unfinished giant bridge that was to connect Dapa, Siargao’s business center, and General Luna surfers’ haven Cloud 9.
The project was discontinued when a complaint was raised by a foreign resort owner who got angry at the fact that too many white-sand beaches would be devoured by the concrete monster the moment it would reach the other side.
But what else is new in General Luna? There is a public market building on the white sand beach, a paved mini-boulevard along a white sand seaside, and a public school building within the wide expanse of the white sand beach.
Ignorance of the art of organic landscape architecture led to a lot of white sand lines wasted.
Some islands in Siargao have more painful savage intrusion, including a mining corporation with evil doings spreading like forest fire.
The manner of conquering the virgin forest in every mountaintop pains every group of tourists who were confused at such concept of progress.
The harvest of copper and nickel, as demanded by their Japanese partners, seems to be enjoying total freedom as evidently shown by the extent of the denudation.
Beyond these painful realities, the beauty of Lee’s gift for me Daku and all the other islands prevailed. They still have given me gifts of joy on my birthday.
Siargao may have the enduring power to welcome the visitors with the splendor of its natural wonders. But the possibility of finding a carapace with no life in it made me think of going home to Mindanao for good.
Life will definitely become more meaningful when one is part of the mission to preserve the endless white-sand dreamland and the international surfers’ ocean-blue paradise.
